Means for throwing sewing-machines into or out of gear



Patented Aug. 30, I898.

2 Sheets-Sheet l.

G. S. NEELEY. MEANS FOR THROWING SEWING MACHINES INTO 0R OUT OF GEAR.

(No Model.)

No. 609,973. Patented Aug. 30, I898.

G. S. NEELEY.

MEANS FOR THROWING SEWING MACHINES INTO 08 OUT OF GEAR (Applicationfiled Nov. 15, 1897.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet .2-

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GEORGE s. NEELEY, on marine, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR or TWO-THIRDS TOALEXANDER MAITLAND AND GEORGE E. mnkiou'r, or SAME PLACE.

MEANS FOR THROWING SEWING-MACHINESIINT O R OUT OF GEAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 609,973, dated August30, 1898.

' Application filed N0vember 18, 189'7:. Serial N0. 658,9'Z9'. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern} Be it known that I, GEORGE S. NEELEY,acitizen of the United States, residing at Pa cific, in the county ofFranklin and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Means forThrowing Sewing-Machines Into or Out of Gear, of which the following isa specification.

hen winding the bobbins of sewing-machines, it is desirable to throw thesewing mechanism out of gear, thereby saving the machine and preventingthe breaking of the upper thread and the withdrawing of the same fromthe needle, and resulting, further, in a lighter-running action andenabling the hand or balance wheel to be run at a higher speed than issafe when sewing.

The object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanism forattaining the ends aforesaid which will be of simple and'effectiveconstruction and prevent at all times and under all conditions thebackward rotation of the shaft by means of which power is transmitted tothe shuttle and needle bar operating mechanism, whether operated byhandor treadle power, thereby preventing the breaking of the upperthread and the unthreading of the needle.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of the inventionreference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the followingdescription.

The improvement'is susceptibleof various changes in the form,proportion, and the minor details of construction withoutdeparting fromthe principle or sacrificing any of.

the advantages thereof, and to a full'disclosure of the invention anadaptation thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a sectional detail of the rear portion of the arm of asewing-inachine head, showing the application of the invention. Fig. 2is a transverse section of the hand-wheel on the line .W W of Fig. 3,showing the tapering depression and ba1l-clutch in elevation. Fig. 3 isa section on the line Z Z of Fig. 1, looking to the right. Fig. 4 showsa different arrangement of the ball-clutch between the hand-wheel andthe disk." Fig.5 is a vertical hand or treadle power.

section on the line Y Y of Fig. 4 looking to theright, as indicated bythe arrow. Fig. 6 is a similar section on the line X X of Fig. 4 lookingto the left. 7 Fig. '7 is a detail section of the hand or balance wheelon the line V V of Fig. 5, showing the decreasing depth of thedepression which receives the ball-clutch and its spring. V

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in the several views of the accompanyingdrawings by the same reference characters.

All sewing-machines are not constructed to operate upon rotating thehand or balance wheel in the same direction, and some perform work uponturning the hand-wheel to the right and others when the hand-wheel is.in an opposite direction from that in which it is designed to berotated for operating the sewing mechanis m'whether it be to the rightor to the left. The main object is to prevent this backwardrotationofthe shaft either by The shaft 1 is journaled in the arm 2 in theordinary manner and is the means for transmitting motion to the sewingmechanism. Upon the outer or rear end of this shaft is secured a disk 3,having an inwardly-extending hub portion 4, the latter receiving thebinding screw a, by means of which the disk is held in place,'althoughother means may be employed for fastening the disk to the shaft so itwill revolve therewith. A recess 5 is formed in the outer-face of thearm 2 and .extendsfrorn the opening-therein in which sures a positiveand responsive action on the part of the ball-clutch, so that theinstant the shaft 1 receives a backward tendency the ballclutch comesinto play and holds the shaft, and thereby prevents the breaking of thethread and the unthreading of the needle, which are the chief sources ofannoyance and inconvenience to the operator.

The hand orbalancewheel8isloosely mounted upon the outer end of theshaft 1 and is provided on its inner face with a grooved pulley 9, whichreceives the belt, (not shown,) by means of which motion is impartedthereto from the drive-wheel and treadle in the usual manner. The disk 3is smaller than the pulley 9 and fits snugly within a recess 12, formedtherein. A tapering depression 13 is provided in the wall of the recess12 and curves in the direction of its length and decreases in depthtoward one end. A ballclutch 6 and spring 7 are located in thedepression 13 and operate in the manner previously described, the spring7 moving the ball-clutch toward the smaller end of the depression, so asto be wedged between the depression and the edge of the disk 3 uponrotating the hand-wheel forwardly or in a direction to impart movementto the shaft 1 and sewing mechanism. There may be any number of thesedepressions 13 and ball-clutches, two being shown, and thenumber willdepend upon the nature of the Work and the size of the machine to bedriven. The parts cooperating with the ball-clutches will becasehardened or made of steel and tempered, so as to resist the wearingaction incident to the wedging'of the ball-clutches between the partsgripped thereby.

It will be observed that the hub of the disk 3 serves to close the openside of the recess 5 and retains the ball-clutch and spring in place,and the disk enters the recess 12 and closesthe open sides of thedepressions 13, and its edge receives the thrust of the ballclutcheslocated in the said depressions 13. When the hand-wheel is rotatedbackwardly by hand, treadle, or by other means, the ballclutch betweenit and the disk 3 is thrown out of action, and the ball-clutch betweenthe arm and shaft instantly comes into play and prevents any backwardrotation of the shaft, and upon turning the hand-wheel forwardly theball-clutch between it and the disk 3 comes into action and causes acorresponding movement of the shaft 1, and the ball-clutch between thearm 2 and shaft 1 is thrown out of action, as will be readilyunderstood. The hand-wheel is held in place bya collar 11, secured uponthe end of the shaft 1 by means of a binding-screw 14.

As shown in Fig, 4, the disk 3 and pulley 9 are of like diameter, andthe pulley 9 has depressions 10 in its face of tapering form andreceiving ball-clutches 6 and springs 7, said depressions being closedby the disk 3,

against which the ball-clutches act laterally. This construction can bereadily adapted to the present patterns of machines at a small cost, butis not preferred because dirt and foreign matter can enter the spacebetween the parts 3 and 9 and because the collar 11 must sustain thelateral stress of the ballclutch between the parts 3 and 9 when inaction.

The construction shown in Fig. 1 is preferred, as it relieves the collar11 of outward strain when the machine is running and enables theattachment to be fitted to shorter shafts and the middle portion of thehandwheel to be made thinner.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1. Incombination, an arm or bearing provided in its outer side withacircumferential recess of tapering form, a shaft journaled in the saidbearing, a clutch-ball and spring located in the said tapering recess, adisk secured to the shaft and having a hub portion coming against theouter face of the bearing and closing the aforesaid recess formedtherein and holding the ball-clutch and spring in place, a hand-wheelloosely mounted upon the shaft and having a tapering depression in itsinner face, and a ball-clutch and spring located in the said taperingdepression and adapted to operate against the aforementioned disk by awedging action and in an opposite direction to the first-mentionedballclutch, whereby upon turning the hand-wheel backwardly the shaftwill be clutched to the bearing, and upon turning the hand-wheel forwardwill be released and clutched so as to turn with the hand-wheel,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In combination, a bearing having a circumferential tapering recess, ashaft journaled in the said bearing, a clutch-ball and spring placed inthe said tapering recess, a disk secured to the shaft and closing theopen side of the aforesaid tapering recess, a handwheel loosely mountedupon the shaft and having a grooved pulley on its inner side recessed tosnugly receive the disk, and having a tapering recess in the wallencircling the said disk and closed by the latter, and a ballclutch andspring located in the said recess of the pulley to act against theperiphery of the disk, the tapering recesses of the bearing and groovedpulley extending in opposite directions with respect to each other tocause the parts to operate substantially in the manner specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEO. S. NEELEY.

WVitnesses:

J NO. A. LANDRIGAN, LUoY F. BOOTH.

